


They Only Tell Lies and Do Not Exist

by LemonBubble



Series: NVTR Fics [1]
Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Gen, but not the same 'you' as in a story about you, just a you
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-03
Updated: 2013-11-03
Packaged: 2017-12-31 07:47:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1029115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LemonBubble/pseuds/LemonBubble
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There are no angels at the bowling alley because angels don't exist. That thing sitting across from you must be something else.</p>
            </blockquote>





	They Only Tell Lies and Do Not Exist

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Night Vale Town Riot, day 1 prompt "Team Names". My team was named for the Desert Flower Bowling Alley and Arcade Fun Complex (Desert Bowl for short).

It is night when you head down to the Desert Flower Bowling Alley and Arcade Fun Complex. To be more specific, it is League Night and you are there to bowl with your team. They are not here yet, but you knew they wouldn’t be. You like to be early, because that is the kind of person you are.

The junior league teams are still here, almost finished with their games. You notice that the team with the creepy scout kid is winning again. You wonder how long it will take the other teams to work out that they always win because of his scout magicks. You can’t believe you just thought the phrase “scout magicks” but you decide that it’s a pretty accurate description of whatever it is that the creepy scout kid does.

You find a table and sit by yourself. No one pays you any mind, you are a familiar face around here. Your team will be here soon, but until then you don’t mind just sitting, enjoying the atmosphere of the bowling alley. Every other time you have done this, nothing of interest has happened.

Tonight is different. Tonight someone approaches you. Someone very tall, with wings and wearing a team jacket you don’t recognise. They sit across from you and smile in a way that makes it very hard not to smile back. You don’t though. You don’t look at whatever is sitting across from you and you very definitely don’t smile. To smile would be to acknowledge the thing’s existence. You know it is an angel, and you also know that angels aren’t real. So it must not exist. So you do not smile.

“I’m not an angel.” The very definitely empty space across from you says. You don’t say anything back. The other thing you know about angels is that the ones at the bowling alley and the Ralph’s always tell lies. Or they would, if they were real, which they are not. Something seems to get annoyed at your lack of response.

“You think I’m real.” It lies, ruffling its wings with a miffed air. Its smile fades a little and you feel bad. You notice that everyone else in the bowling alley is very pointedly not noticing you now and you feel quite alone. You still do not smile or look at the thing that doesn’t exist. It moves around suddenly, trying to make you look at it. You successfully avoid seeing it, although it is very hard, and you don’t like the way you can tell it is frowning at you, even without looking at it.

It’s not long before a couple of your team mates arrive and you gratefully get up to meet them, still not looking at the angel.

“You’re going to win tonight.” The angel says, and this time you can’t help yourself. You turn and look at it. It is smiling again, and you smile back. It leaves. You have a good feeling about tonight’s game.

-

Your team loses. Your team loses very badly, and the other teams laugh at how awful you are. You feel betrayed for quite some time, before you remember.

The angels at the bowling alley only tell lies.


End file.
